Taking away strippers may hurt small-town Sask. bars

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Atchison said ever since that first show, he’s bombarded daily with questions from people asking when he’ll have the dancers again.

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Premier Brad Wall admitted on Wednesday to reporters that he and the government “made a mistake” when it came to allowing licensed venues the option of having strip shows. Even then, dancers couldn’t get naked, only being allowed to strip down to thongs and pasties.

The law had been in place for a little over a year before the province decided to reverse its decision.

“I wish Wall would get out of his 1940s ways of thinking. I think he should rethink his evaluation.”

The decision will come into effect in just a few weeks. Wall said several ministers will sit down and draft up changes to the wording of the law. The premier said he was making the announcement now so that anyone thinking of applying to have this form of entertainment would not go ahead.

Atchison has real concerns that this decision from the province will put him out of work.

“I’m pissed right off about it. They take my entertainment away? I might as well close the door,” he conceded. “To me, they’re killing the small businesses.”

Wall explained the reasoning to rescind the law had to do with the possibility of a rise in organized crime and human trafficking. From his discussions with police in Saskatchewan, Wall shared that almost 100 per cent of strip clubs in central Canada would have ties to the Hells Angels.

Atchison outlined how he gets performers from The Bare Essentials, a burlesque troupe based out of Regina.

“Not all these strippers are related to a biker gang or criminals. Most of these girls are mothers that have to survive.”

“If these girls want to dance, perfect. Or if they want to be a private performer, that’s up to them. If I want to be a truck driver, I’ll go drive trucks. If I want to be a bar owner, I’ll be a bar owner. What happened to our freedom?”

He admits he has a strip show booked for the end of April, but is now unsure whether he’ll still be allowed to have it. Until he gets a letter from the SLGA or another provincial authority, Atchison intends to go ahead with the show.

news@panow.com 

On Twitter:@princealbertnow